FanHouse Larryjohnson

As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, we'll hit up the thoroughbreds.

The thing that sticks out to me, when viewing the running backs for this season, is what a muddled mess the group is. I stared at a group of about 15 players -- those ranked from six to 20 -- for probably 45 minutes while tinkering with how to rank them. Some will pan out, and some will end up being viewed as busts. May the force be with you. (Last Updated: 8/27/09)

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For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.

Obviously, with training camp comes a certain level of optimism surrounding every team. At Bears camp, the entire offense has been a veritable hype machine, due mostly to the acquisition of pro bowl quarterback Jay Cutler.

Devin Hester is getting rave reviews from every source who has seen camp as well. Most recently, Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune penned an entire column gushing about the progress of Hester as a receiver and the prospects of him becoming a legitimate star receiver. And he hasn't always been a Hester-at-wideout fan.

Cornerback Larry Brown was the first defensive player I remember who parlayed an MVP Super Bowl performance into a big payday. Brown intercepted quarterback Neil O'Donnell two times to help the the Cowboys defeat the Steelers during Super Bowl XXX. That offseason he signed with the Raiders for a nice little sum based primarily on that one performance.

He played just 12 games in two years with the Raiders, and he was out of football a year after that. I was reminded of Brown when reading about former Bucs safety Dexter Jackson. Jackson won MVP honors when Tampa Bay throttled Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVIII. And like Brown, he used the experience to pad his bank account.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Conclusion of the Butt Chiefs. That lousy 2-14 Chiefs squad from 2008 has nowhere to go but up from here, so they will no longer be the butt of everyone's joke. Remember that explosive offense for the NFC Champion, Arizona Cardinals. Well, former offensive coordinator Todd Haley assumes his first head coaching job this season in Kansas City. In other words, the Chiefs offense just became very relevant for fantasy football owners. Sure, Haley still faces a massive challenge in terms of personnel, but you can rest assured that this season, the Chiefs' offense will make plays just like Haley's Cardinals did.

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On Second Thought is Matt Snyder's look back at the initial FanHouse staff rankings, which were compiled nearly a month ago. As we all know, fantasy players' value changes frequently, even when no games are being played. Today, we look at running backs.

As teams continue to use two-backs systems, running back has become an increasingly deep and unpredictable position. Thus, you don't have the predictable first two rounds of years past. Injuries and the progress of young backs will shuffle backfields throughout the preseason. As that happens, the fantasy values of the running backs continually shift. Let's take a look.

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Jason Whitlock has reason to be concerned about Matt Cassel. He's the Chiefs new quarterback, doesn't have much in the way of experience, and will make nearly $15 million in 2009. Oh, and it's easy to be skittish when Cassel succeeds the likes of Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen.

Of the three, Thigpen probably has the most potential, but the new regime made it clear that he wasn't in their long-term plans when they traded for Cassel. But that doesn't mean Whitlock is convinced.

Specifically, he's worried that the Chiefs "have little interest in signing Matt Cassel to a long-term contract before the start of the season." There were rumors during draft weekend that the Chiefs gave Cassel a six-year deal ($36 million guaranteed). Untrue, it turned out.

Good news for law-breaking NFL players: you can accidentally shoot a hole in your leg and still collect your signing bonus. Special Master Stephen Burbank ruled last week that former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was due his $1 million bonus because, as the AP reported, money already earned by a player, such as a signing bonus, cannot be forfeited even if the player subsequently gets into trouble.

The extra cash should come in handy for Burress, who can't seem to go more than a week without some sort of legal entanglement. (This assumes, of course, he has any intentions of paying his fines.)

The news is less rosy for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, however.

All season long Brian Dawkins said that he was hopeful that he'd work out a way to stay with the Eagles. Less than 24 hours into free agency, though, that looks like an impossibility. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Dawkins and the Broncos have agreed to terms on a contract that will be formally announced in Denver on Saturday.

Dawkins fills a huge hole for the Broncos. Their defense will be stocked with new, presumably young for the most part, faces. Dawkins gives them an experienced leader who can help the team forge a new defensive identity.

Tony Richardson didn't last long as a free agent, re-signing with the New York Jets shortly after the free agency period began at midnight on Friday.

Richardson inked what is believed to be a one-year deal with $500,000 guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter.

It's pretty incredible, when you think about it, how underrated a guy like Richardson is: he's cleared the way for Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Adrian Peterson and last year, he made Thomas Jones look like an All-Pro. Yet, somehow, he can't pull a monster deal.

I understand that no fullback is going to get some insanely large contract, but at the same time, Richardson has done wonders for the running game on every team he's suited up for, so this deal shouldn't be overlooked in terms of its importance for the Jets' 2009 season.